Business-oriented search

Abstract

A system and architecture for enhancing search results generated by an Internet search engine, so that those search results include enhanced buyer-oriented information, is disclosed. According to one aspect, a list of search results generated by an Internet search engine comprises one or more search results that are associated with one or more URLs in a set of URLs. For each such URL, seller-specific information, which may be based on and / or comprise ratings that are associated with registered selling entities that are associated with that URL, is presented in association with that URL's corresponding search result in the list of search results. A user who submitted query terms, based upon which the list of search results was generated, can use the presented rating information to determine which of the search results to investigate further.

Description

CLAIM OF PRIORITY AND RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 as a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 340,905, which was filed on Jan. 27, 2006, which is titled “ENHANCED BUYER-ORIENTED SEARCH RESULTS,” the applicant for which application is Richard A. Heggem, and which application is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes as though fully and originally disclosed herein. [0002] The present application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 752,163, which was filed on Jan. 5, 2004, which is titled “CONNECTING BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS BUYERS AND SELLERS,” and also to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 153,929, which is also titled “CONNECTING BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS BUYERS AND SELLERS,” the applicant for both of which applications is Richard A. Heggem, and both of which applications are incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes as though fully and originally disclosed...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The patent describes a system and method for improving search results from internet search engines by adding buyer-oriented information to the results. This information includes ratings and other details about the seller, which helps the buyer decide which results to investigate further. The system can also customize the information based on the buyer's preferences. Overall, this improves the quality of search results and makes them more useful for buyers."

Problems solved by technology

More often than not, due in part to the sheer magnitude of pages accessible via the Internet, the quantity of search results returned by the Internet search engine will be staggering.

Usually, the number of search results returned will be far too great to allow the buyer to investigate each search result returned.

Thus, a prospective buyer, having obtained a multitude of search results from an Internet search engine, has still gained very little information in those results that will assist him in finding a high-quality seller that is likely to offer a high-quality product or service.

Any qualitative information represented in the search results has a good. chance of being biased or misleading, since such information originates from those whose interests often compel them to be less than perfectly honest and candid.

While the search results may help a prospective buyer to locate products and services in which the buyer might be interested, the search results cannot adequately inform the buyer about which sellers the buyer can trust.

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